Paul Cicero

Paul "Paulie" Cicero (9 July 1914-3 May 1988) was a caporegime in the Lucchese crime family of the American Mafia. Cicero led a crew in East New York, New York City, and this crew carried out several heists at the JFK International Airport during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1984, he was sent to prison after his protege Henry Hill turned states against him, and he died in prison in Fort Worth, Texas in 1988.

Biography
Paul Cicero was born in New York City, New York on 9 July 1914, and he served seven months in juvenile detention at the age of 11 for truancy. During his adult years, he was arrested for loan-sharking, burglary, tax evasion, bribery, bookmaking, contempt of court, and assault. Cicero became known for his violent temper, and he became a member of the Lucchese crime family of the American Mafia, rising to the rank of caporegime. Cicero's crew operated in Brooklyn, and famous members of his crew included Henry Hill, Jimmy Conway, and Tommy DeVito. Cicero's crew frequently hijacked cargo at the JFK International Airport, and he used his influence over the cargo haulers' union to threaten labor strikes to block government investigations. Cicero also controlled most forms of illegal gambling in East New York, and he entered the junkyard during the late 1960s. Cicero prohibited his closest lieutenants from drug trafficking, although he would later allow Hill to deal in narcotics while he was in prison. From 1973 to 1975, he was imprisoned for tax evasion, and he would go on to approve his crew's involvement in the 1978 Lufthansa heist. In 1984, he was convicted of defrauding the federal government after Hill joined the Witness Protection Program; Hill was afraid that Cicero would have him killed for his drug trafficking. Cicero died in Fort Worth Federal Prison on 3 May 1988 at the age of 73.